Enigma Returns From Berger Books

Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo was one of the Vertigo imprint launch titles. The eight-issue miniseries was first released in 1993. Collected in 1995, I recommended it in 2006. It’s an astounding story about dreams and superheroes and imagination and childhood heroes as inspiration to acknowledge one’s true self.

Now, the Dark Horse imprint Berger Books is bringing out Enigma: The Definitive Edition (October 2021, $24.99), a hardcover collection with extras “including development art, color sketches, and behind-the-scenes notes”. I’m glad to see it back in print.

It’s the story of Micheal, who starts seeing characters from the comic he read as a kid come to life, and as he tries to work out what’s happening, he comes to the truth of his sexual identity. This kind of postmodern approach to heroes is fairly common now, but Milligan and Fegredo gave it much more substance by creating “the first gay superhero in mainstream comics.”

Enigma: The Definitive Edition can be ordered now from your local comic shop with Diamond code JUN21 0305.